Glass block panels are becoming ever more popular. They are esthetically appealing and from a functional standpoint they allow light penetration without direct visibility to provide privacy depending upon what type of glass block is used in the panel.
Known glass block panels use a grid like frame with glass blocks fitted in the pocket regions of the frame. The frame is made from metallic material such as aluminum to provide required rigidity for holding the glass blocks.
While aluminum does have the benefit of being light in weight and relatively strong its use necessitates that the glass blocks be caulked, mortared or otherwise suitably sealed in the frame. Furthermore aluminum and other metallic frames have the undesirable characteristics that they rust or otherwise deteriorate in wet and/or salty conditions and that they allow loss of heat energy because of their high thermal conductivity. Accordingly thermal breaks are often required in a conventional glass block panel.
Examples of glass block panels using metallic frames are shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,210 issued Aug. 27, 1991 to Taylor and U.S. Pat. No. 5,218,806 issued Jan. 15, 1993 to Taylor. U.S. Pat. No. 5,003,744 issued Apr. 2, 1991 to Taylor also shows a glass block panel assembly using a metallic frame with thermal breaks to reduce the loss of heat energy through the glass block panel.
In each of the glass block panels shown in the above patents mortar, bonding or caulking agents are required to seal the blocks within the panel. These panels are therefore relatively labour extensive and time consuming to assemble and are not easily put together at the actual job site. These types of glass panels, generally speaking, could not be together by most home owners who might want to do their assembly and installation. Accordingly known glass block panels would generally be preassembled by people having professional skills and carried as a relatively large and heavy item to the job site.
Polyvinyl chloride, ie, vinyl is a material that is gaining more and more acceptance in standard window manufacturing. The vinyl is used as a surrounding frame for windows using a solid window pane. Vinyl has the benefit that it is a very good heat insulator and has esthetically desirable characteristics. For example vinyl can be extruded in different permanent colours without having to paint the vinyl. Furthermore vinyl does not rust like metallic material and therefore has great application in wet conditions such as those found in a naturally damp environment and even those found in a man made wet area such as a bathroom shower and the like.
To date vinyl has not been accepted as a suitable frame material in the manufacture of glass block panels because it does not have sufficient strength for supporting a series of small glass blocks in a grid like pattern or formation. Accordingly known glass block panels have not been able to take advantage of the benefits provided by vinyl and other similar plastic materials.